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GATE (Gifted & Talented Education)

Fairmont Elementary GATE
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Fairmont Elementary School provides a program committed to the enrichment of our gifted and talented students. The Fairmont GATE program is a unique site-based cluster program. Due to the large numbers of students who are identified as Gifted and Talented at Fairmont, we have full classes of gifted students resulting in a very stimulating classroom environment. Our students benefit from interaction with their intellectual peers and the continuity of remaining at their excellent home school.

Our teachers understand the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of gifted students and provide rigorous learning activities that amplify and exceed grade level standards and give students opportunities to collaborate, think critically, and expand their creativity and curiosity. The positive environment at Fairmont supports our GATE students in their pursuit of personal growth. We strive to develop well-rounded students that are actively engaged in the creative pursuit of lifelong learning.

At Fairmont, the GATE cluster program takes teaching and learning above and beyond to develop 21st century learners and leaders.

A few of our program highlights include:

  • Debates
  • Expert Interviews
  • Magazine and/or newspaper projects
  • Depth and Complexity
  • Math enrichment
  • Student-created skits & songs based on curriculum
  • Webcasts
  • Socratic Seminars
  • Old fashioned radio shows
  • After school programs
  • Leadership opportunities
  • GATE Field Trips
  • Mock Trials
  • Choice Menus
  • Website Development and Coding
  • DBQs (document based questions)
  • PSI (Primary Source Investigations)
  • Inquiry based labs
  • Robotics
  • Tinker Lab
  • Green screen movie making
  • Advanced literature
  • Podcasting
  • Living History Night

Fairmont GATE Academy

In addition to a full day of enriched classroom experiences, students in Fairmont’s GATE program participate in GATE Academies. This specialized program gives gifted students the opportunity to work in teams composed of 4th through 6th grade GATE students to explore a high-interest topic in great depth. Students take on the role of an academic investigator as they delve deeply into the discipline of a topic. As an example, Gate Academy students have become ornithologists. As ornithologists, students conducted research to gain knowledge on bird habitats, diet, migration, and other features. Throughout the school year, they participated in field trips, listened to guest speakers, viewed websites, and read educational material to learn about California’s bird population. Students synthesized and applied the knowledge they gained by creating a project to share their learning in a GATE Academy Parent Night. Academies are changed each year but have included: Archaeology, Ornithology, Inventioneering, Biomimicry, Thinking Like a Disciplinarian, Old Fashioned Radio Shows and Programming a Video Game.

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PYLUSD GATE

GATE Identification

Students in third through seventh grades may qualify for the GATE program based on GATE identification criteria. These criteria include a balance between achievement testing, ability testing, and other factors. All third and fourth-grade students will be screened to see if GATE services are appropriate. Students in grades five through seventh may be referred for testing or evaluation by their teacher, administrator, counselor, or parent. For sample CogAT items, please click here. Because the State Department of Education gives each district the responsibility of developing its own criteria for its GATE program, qualifications vary from district to district. Parents of students who are identified as GATE in another district should contact the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District GATE office at (714) 985-8675 prior to enrolling in the district to discuss the program options.
GATE Flowchart